Skin Care Articles

Want the fast answer for how to get rid of a sunburn? Don’t get one – sun burns happen when your skin is unexposed to UV radiation from the sun. You’ve got ample opportunities to avoid that with basic skin care, like a broad spectrum sunblock and protective clothing.

You may burn without them, and increase your risk of skin cancers carcinoma and melanoma, which can be very aggressive.

Of course, you’re reading this article for sunburn relief. Relax – we all burn from time to time. You can get rid of a sunburn with proper care, including a cold compress and ointment or gel with menthol or aloe.

Skin cancer should be treated by your doctor. You shouldn’t try to address this potentially fatal health issue alone. And you really don’t want to do it with black salve.

You’ve heard of black salve, right? It’s a controversial ointment with corrosive ingredients that burn skin and, theoretically, skin cancer with it. The issue with that is a total lack of anything that would pass for evidence to suggest that it works. There’s plenty of the opposite though – in fact, a 2016 study suggests black salve makes skin cancer more difficult to treat.

The warmth of summer has a deadly secret. It’s during these hot days that you’re at higher risk of developing melanoma – the most aggressive form of skin cancer – which can come back to haunt you later in life.

You don’t have to look far to see melanoma at work. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter made headlines last year when he announced his advanced melanoma was in remission. That’s significant because advanced skin cancer is often lethal, as Carter’s was, and it could have been the end of him. But new melanoma drugs appear to have saved his life.

You made it through summer and now you’ve got itchy skin. Congratulations – or sorry, depending on your point of view, because you survived mosquito bites and poison oak. But now the weather’s turning. You’re inside more, with the heaters on, and exposed to any number of household irritants that can make your life miserable.

The good news is there are plenty of remedies for itchy skin. You can often treat it at home – first by finding the cause of your misery. Fix that problem and your skin should thank you.

One causes facial redness, the other cracks your skin and makes you itch like nothing else. Rosacea and eczema are two skin disorders that can make your life just plain miserable. Now two studies offer new insight into these problematic skin diseases, and why it’s important to not dismiss them as skin-deep issues.

The studies may change how we treat rosacea and eczema in the years ahead. Both conditions can drastically affect quality of life – some 75% of rosacea patients have cancelled social plans because of an outbreak.

Proof that life just ain’t fair. A recent study found that some folks age faster than others. A woman of 38 can look almost 60 – or just 28. Now a new study builds further on this recent and yields new clues into eye wrinkles, and possibly how to avoid them down the road.

The study links wrinkles to sebaceous glands. More specifically, wrinkles appear to develop in areas with fewer of these oil-secreting glands just below the skin. You’ve got more of these glands in your forehead than around your eyes. Meaning? Wrinkles tend to be deeper in this tell-tale area than on your forehead. Enter eye wrinkles, crow’s feet, laugh lines and visible aging in all its glory.

Launched in 2011, Skinception is a line of exclusive skin care products. They’re exclusive because they blend natural ingredients with some of the most recent developments in skin care science. Skinception products can help you prevent wrinkles, get rid of scarring, stretch marks and dark spots and other factors that lead to great complexion.

It’s no stretch to say Skinception makes some of the best skin care products either. Skinception products are without parabens and come with exceptionally high satisfaction rates – more than 80% of Kollagen Intensiv clients say they’d buy it again for example. And all Skinception products come with the reassurance of a 90 day money-back guarantee.

We’ve talked about anti-aging creams like Kollagen Intensiv extensively here at Natural Health Source. That’s because Kollagen Intensiv and related Skinception anti-aging creams use powerful peptides to stimulate natural collagen, without parabens, for a dramatically younger appearance, typically in less than 3 months.

But even Skinception anti-aging creams are limited by a basic truth: they’re topical. That means they’re limited by how deep they can absorb into the skin. And while they’re among the most powerful anti-aging creams on the market, they can only do so much.

At $59.95 for a single jar, you’ll pay substantially more for a month of Kollagen Intensiv than you would for an anti-wrinkle cream at your local drugstore. Yet that hasn’t hurt sales of the flagship Skinception product. Indeed, even with that hefty price tag, clients seem willing to pay more for exclusive skin care products like this.

But does that mean it’s the best wrinkle cream for your money?

No it doesn’t. The only way you’ll know a good anti-wrinkle cream is if it gets rid of wrinkles (shocker), without inflammation, and helps you look younger, with skin that’s both thick and resilient.

You might want to avoid that poolside margarita this summer. Ditto vodka tonics or other drinks that would have you touching lime peels. The reason? Lime is one of the more problematic sunburn boosters, which can make you more sensitive to the sun’s damaging rays, for a sunburn that would make life very unpleasant.

The same goes for celery, by the way, along with many antibiotics, some acne products with benzoyl peroxide and other foods, substances and medications that might be in your bathroom cabinet.

In your quest for the best anti-aging creams, new evidence suggests the secret to looking younger might have ‘SPF’ on the label. A good sunscreen can help folks look younger right through til middle age. This, as noted with an Australian study linking adults who regularly stathered sunscreen over four and a half years to 24% less skin-aging from the sun.

The study is the first to back up a commonly spread mantra linking sunscreen use to younger skin, say the researchers. And it comes at a time of renewed interest in the quality of sunscreens to the consumer.

The best advice I’ve heard about tattoos came from an artist at one of the first studios I checked out prior to getting inked. I guess I looked nervous, having been in the studio for over an hour as I tried to figure which tattoo I’d get and make part of me forever.

Sensing my indecision, he told be to relax and wait a year after I chose a design. Twelve months later, if I still wanted it, I’d know it was a keeper. If not, it would be for the best that I didn’t get it. Tattoos linger, after all. They don’t wash off in the shower

You might cringe when you read this. The Environmental Working Group estimates there are more than 10,000 nasty chemicals in beauty and skin care products. They range from carcinogens to pesticides and reproductive toxins. Yes, this affects you too – the average North American adult is exposed to 168 chemicals each day.

Now consider that anything applied to the skin, be it antiperspirant or lip gloss, is absorbed by the body just as if you’d eaten it. Now most skin care products look don’t look so pretty, and natural skin care looks golden by comparison.

Santa brings more than festive cheer for many people. Winter and its sometimes-frigid temperatures is notorious for dry scalp and itchy skin. Throw a little psoriasis in for good measure and life can get miserable.

Psoriasis is a life-long skin condition of scaling and redness. We’re not talking about a mild dermatitis here; psoriasis is an aggressive skin disease in which cells quickly rise to the skin’s surface, within days rather than the average four weeks that most people experience. The skin then builds up in thick, red patches, called ‘plaques’ that can vary from a mild skin rash to full-on body inflammation.

Mariah Carey, Bill Clinton, Sir Alex Ferguson, J.P. Morgan and Ricky Wilson have something in common. Aside from being famous, they’ve all struggled with rosacea: a chronic condition of redness that affects about 16 million Americans – most of whom don’t even know they have it.

Rosacea is not acne, by the way, despite that they can both come with pimples and redness. Acne tends to peak in the teenage years and should be treated with anti-bacterial remedies and medicines. Rosacea, conversely, strikes between ages 30 and 50, and though we’re still learning more about this mysterious disorder, our current understanding suggests you can manage it with an anti-inflammatory.

I can’t wear rubber gloves when I wash the dishes. I need to steer clear of many harsh soaps, industrial cleaners and bleached fabrics too. The reason? Eczema – a skin condition caused by inflammation and the most common dermatitis, which makes skin red, itchy, and just plain miserable to live with.

I guess I can take a little solace in knowing that I’m hardly alone in my struggles with skin. Lots of people have eczema; roughly 15 million in just in the United States, or about 3% of the population. That number is higher, between 10 and 20%, for children, though most of them will outgrow their skin sensitivities before they turn ten.

Skin cancer is abnormal cell changes in the outermost layers of skin. It’s the most common form of cancer in the world, named for the type of skin cells in which it develops, and classified into two major groups.

Most cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in adults between 45 and 54. A long-standing rumor contends that the average person receives 85% of their lifetime UV exposure before their 18th birthday, and childhood sunburns increase your risk.

They’re red, they’re angry and many folks have them. But perhaps the worst thing about stretch marks is they often develop on the sexier parts of the human anatomy and they reveal where you’ve been.

For the record, striae, or stretch marks, are a form of scarring, characterized by an off-color hue. They develop from some of life’s most defining moments, including pregnancy, with some estimates suggesting that up to 90% of mothers develop stretch marks, particularly in the latter half of the birthing process.

Scars can form on the body from just about any trauma to the skin. But it’s the psychological scars they sometimes cause that make them most troublesome.

Scarring results from an over or under-production of collagen during the healing phase of wound repair; it’s a biological process of four stages that, depending on the severity of the injury, can take up to two years to fully develop.

A scar presents no health risk. Indeed, it signifies that your skin has repaired the layers of issue involved in the injury. Your body has healed – but that history remains visible in the form of a scar.

Remember those days in high school when acne would flare up at the worst possible time?

Maybe it was on picture day. And if that was the case, the photographer could at least touch up the image so the pimple in question wouldn’t make its way through the annals of time via your yearbook.

But you can’t hide the effects that acne has on your ego. Some 50 million adult Americans know that just a little too well, with medium to severe acne that may linger long after the halls of high school. In some cases, it can even strike randomly – and with great severity – in adults beginning after 25 who’d never been affected during adolescence.

Heard it? It’s a popular mantra among some in the skin care industry, yet a call to arms for others.

You’ll encounter two sides to the toner debate. On the one side are the skeptics. They’re the ones who think it’s an unnecessary step after cleansing and before application of an appropriate moisturizer.

Yet it’s the folks on the other side of the toner debate, who recognize that your cleaner doesn’t get everything, that large pores are more susceptible to toxins and pollutants from the environment that can age the skin, that deserve your attention.

Google ‘Moroccan Oil’ and you’ll get about 14 million hits. But I’ll save both you and the Berber women of Morocco some grief with some quick advice: Don’t buy it. Buy Argan instead.

What’s the difference? And why the hype about Moroccan, er, argan oil in the first place?

Aside from the obvious fact that people really love their skin, and put out exorbitant dollars to prove it, and that Moroccan stuff is just so, well, exotic, there’s been much hype in recent years about argan oil and the many things that it does.

Anyone who’s been to Italy knows that what Michelangelo could do with a fresh canvas was nothing short of spectacular. The Statue of David. The Sistine Chapel. The man was an artist whose works inspire us centuries after his death.

Guess what? Your body has a canvass too. You’re wearing it. And if you want to look young, pay attention. The canvass is your skin. And it’s your largest organ.

Think about the Sistine Chapel for a moment. Ponder its beauty, and the craftsmanship and every intricate detail. Michelangelo spent four years of his life on this masterpiece.

Ignore the killjoys. If you want a tattoo, get one. Want several? Get them. Life’s too short to worry about what other people think or how they’ll react when they see your new body art.

That said, the quality of your design relies greatly on the skin care tips you practice in the days after you get your tattoo. Scarring, infections and the sun can all damage the tat you spent so much time (and a little pain) in getting. Minimize damage to your tattoo with these skin care tips for new tattoos to ensure your design is one you’ll be proud of after the session and for the rest of your life.

There’s big bucks in skin care products, and with good reason. People want to get rid of wrinkles and enjoy the taut, plump skin of their youth. That’s easier said than done, of course. But recent developments in skin care reveal some promising solutions. Among them, retinoids, which have raised more than a few eyebrows.

About Retinoids

Originally used in acne treatment products in the 1970s, retinoids are a chemical compound related to vitamin A. You’ll find them in many over-the-counter skin care products and prescription anti-aging creams that promise to even skin tone and get rid of wrinkles. But do they deliver? According to many dermatologists, they do.

You’ll find plenty of scientific jabber in your search for good skin care products, but unless you’ve got an advanced degree in bio-chemistry, it can be difficult to know the good ingredients and what they do. The skin care industry is big business, with products that milk the “anti-aging” wave becoming increasingly popular.

Of course, there is more to skin care products than meets the eye. Some products use ingredients in such small concentrations that they simply don’t work. Other ingredients are unstable, or can irritate the skin. And some, like vitamin C, are rendered useless in many of the forms in which they’re used.

Here’s a public service announcement for women new to skin care or who use body skin care products on their face: Stop. Facial skin is extremely delicate and can’t handle many of the skin care products designed for the thicker skin of the rest of the body. They’re different creatures. Treat them so.

Of course, it can be daunting to navigate the literally thousands of cleansers, anti-aging creams, moisturizers and lotions that pepper the skin care industry. You can easily spend hundreds of dollars on luxury brands. But more often than not, you can find an over-the-counter drug store equivalent that’s just as effective because they often use the same ingredients.

There’s a minefield of toxins and substances in your house that, if you’re prone to allergies, can irritate your skin and make life very uncomfortable. Some of the culprits hit close to home. They’re the skin care products that we least suspect.

Before we proceed further, we should define a contact dermatitis as an inflammation of the skin. Symptoms include redness, itching and swelling. When triggered, a dermatitis will do one of two things:

1) Cause an allergic reaction, in which your immune system responds to an offending substance with red, itchy skin.

Sunscreen plays an important role in summer skin care. You might think that a sunscreen with an SPF factor of 50 protects against sun burns and skin cancer. And it probably does. But not always. That’s because sunscreens aren’t required to protect against UVA radiation. But that’s about to change, and so will summer skin care and how you choose sunscreen.

What’s the Difference Between UVB and UVA?

UVB is what many people commonly think of when you mention “ultraviolet rays”. UVB is the strongest form of radiation from the sun and can burn the top-most layer of the skin, cause wrinkles and increase risk of skin cancer.

Biology and bathing suit season. They favor beauty and skin that’s vibrant. But skin’s only beautiful for so long before the passage of time takes a toll. Hey, we’re not all models. But good skin care counts for something, and if you want to show skin this summer, read on.

Let’s state the obvious. Most women have cellulite. We get skin discoloration and stretch marks. That might not ease the pain when thinking of that new bathing suit you’d love to model, but it does level the playing field. Good skin care can minimize these common problems, and in this article, we’ll review just that.

Wrinkles are a subtle hint that you’ve been around the block and have the scars to prove it. That might sound harsh, but consider the popularity of skin care products and facial moisturizers and it’s evident that consumers want to get rid of wrinkles, and prevent them when possible.

That’s easier said than done. Wrinkles form when repetitive facial movements like squinting combine with the lost collagen production that occurs with age. Sun damage can also cause wrinkles, and while that’s not a bad thing, wrinkles are a tell-tale sign of age and can make you look, well, older.

There’s a $150 billion global cosmetics industry that caters to skin care for women, offering beauty tips and advice for every type of skin under the sun. But for men? Precious little.

But skin care for men is important. In an age with global warming and a looming wave of skin cancer, it’s important for men to take care of their skin. Combine that with health, and maybe a little vanity, and it’s official: skin care for men counts, whether you’re 18 or 80.

Men’s skin is generally thicker than women’s and not as sensitive to ingredients like parabens. But men face unique challenges that women don’t, which we’ll review in this article.

Pull up a chair. You’re about to learn two skin secrets that will not only save you money, they’ll give you better-looking skin.

First: you can skip those pricey trips to the dermatologist.

Second: food’s not just for eating.

Ok, so this doesn’t mean that you should ignore cosmetics completely. But it does mean you’ll find some surprising uses for common foods that are probably sitting in your pantry. The best part? They don’t have to go in your mouth to make better-looking skin. Your skin will wear the benefits and you’ll avoid the calories.

Diet and health are intertwined. Eat well to feel good, fend off ailments and, among others things, to look young. Skin is your largest organ. Treat it well, and reap the rewards.

This isn’t rocket science. Nutritionists have long advocated the benefits of healthy diet to raise life expectancy and boost quality of life. Add healthy skin to that list. Few factors make you look younger than what goes in your mouth. Choose the right foods, and you’ll have young skin.

The foods listed here are multi-taskers. Not only will they make your skin glow, they’ll keep your weight down, ailments away and maybe keep a few marbles upstairs. Remember that there’s no substitute for a healthy, balanced diet. But this is a skin care article, on food for healthy skin, and with that in mind, these foods are all-stars.

Acne is an embarrassing condition of the skin. You may associate acne with the red skin and pimples of high school, and there’s no disputing that acne is a common symptom of the teenage years. But acne affects between 40 and 50 million Americans, many of them adults.

Why are teenagers prone to acne? The short answer is that hormonal changes trigger oily skin after puberty. Increased testosterone, in both genders, tells the skin glands to produce more oil to keep the skin moist. Acne forms when the oil mixes with dead cells. This clogs the skin’s pores and can stimulate bacteria growth. Pimples can form if the bacteria leaks into the surrounding tissue.

Few things betray age like eye wrinkles. They’re not hard to spot. You see them as crow’s feet at the corners of the eye, and expression lines underneath. Eye wrinkles come with the passage of time, and that can sting.

There’s an entire industry for skin and wrinkle care, with treatments from preventative eye wrinkle creams to botox. People want to know how to prevent eye wrinkles. While some products and techniques are effective, healthy habits go a long way. You can prevent eye wrinkles, but you’ll have more success if you adopt a comprehensive, long-term approach to skin care and wrinkle prevention. Here we’ll review how.

Eyes talk. Of age, health and lifestyle. Some eyes look young and vibrant. Others look old and haggard. You might think that aging eyes are inevitable, with the crow’s feet, wrinkles and under-eye bags that creep up with advancing years. You can think that, but you’d be mistaken.

Ok, so we age around the eyes. We know this, and accept it. While it’s true that we develop those tell-tale signs as we get older, we can minimize their appearance, with proper care and good skin habits. Skin is our largest organ. Take care of it, and it will show.

Try as you may, you can’t outrun biology. You can age well of course, and minimize the passage of time. But we all get older. And it shows in our skin.

So age creeps up. Big deal, some people look older than others. Take care of your skin and you can look twenty years younger. The trick is to start early.

This article contains mature skin care tips, for aging skin, and how to age slower. Remember that the skin is our biggest organ. Signs of aging skin include:

rough texture

lost elasticity

transparency

fragility

dry surface

easily bruised

This is normal. We generate cells at a slower rate as we get older. We also have less collagen and elastin production, and the epidermis (surface layer of skin) gets thinner. This explains, in part, why we experience the symptoms of aging skin described above.

Sunlight is great for the soul, but it’s murder on your skin. Sun damage is a leading cause of wrinkles and aging on the body. And that’s before the health risks involved. With skin cancer rates climbing across the globe, there’s never been a greater urgency to stay out of the sun.

Ok, so we can ‘t avoid it completely. But you’d do well to at least manage your time in your sun. Skin care for the sun is about management, of your minutes exposed, the clothes you wear and the sunscreen you use. Don’t even think about going out in the sun without a sunscreen less than SPF 15.

The joys of summer are numerous. From swimming to barbecues and fireworks, there’s so much to enjoy about summer that it’s easy to forget what it does to your skin.

Sun damage ages the skin, causes wrinkles and increases risk of sun cancer. Combine these with the burns and irritations linked to summer activities, and you’ll see why it’s important to practice summer skin care tips.

That’s not to take the joy out of summer. How can one not like the extended days, blue sky and relaxed demeanour of the laziest of seasons? People are outside and they’re having fun. And with the summer skin care tips listed in this article, you’ll enjoy this summer as much as your skin.

Your skin matters. Not only is it the largest organ of the body, it’s one of the first things people notice about you. Healthy skin tells people that you’re vibrant and full of life. Shrivelled skin says you’re old.

Skin care is big business. Some estimates put skin products at $170 Billion U.S. Dollars each year. Is this justified? Sometimes. There are quality skin-care products, but it’s not necessary to spend exorbitant amounts on skin care if you practice a daily and weekly regimen of nurturing your skin with healthy lifestyle habits.

We’ve heard it said that beauty is skin deep. While that’s debatable, there’s little doubt that healthy skin is an indicator of physical health and beauty. Along with the contour of the face, skin is one of the first (and lasting) physical impressions we make on people. The texture, color and smoothness of skin belies health, and it reflects our physical surroundings and how we take care of ourselves.

Healthy skin is a natural outcome of healthy lifestyle. Beautiful skin gives us confidence and contributes to our well-being. You might be tempted to think that skin is genetic, and you’re either born with it or you’re not. Not true! While it’s true that genes have some say in skin condition and appearance, beautiful skin starts on the inside. With healthy lifestyle habits and commitment to skin care, you’ll find that gorgeous skin will follow.

Is your body a temple? The natural skin care industry seems to think so, and it’s riding a green wave of popularity among consumers, of products and services without the nasty chemicals and preservatives of traditional cosmetics. Natural skin care caters to an emerging market, and business is brisk.

Why natural? According to a 2007 study by the Environmental Working Group, the average North American adult takes in 168 hazardous chemicals every day. Of the 82,000 ingredients in personal care products, 10,000 of them are industrial chemicals. The skin absorbs all contact material, be it lipstick, deodorant or sunblock. And then it enters the bloodstream.